Author Archives: Karen Caffrey

About Karen Caffrey

I'm a psychotherapist in private practice in West Hartford, Connecticut. I enjoy helping people become more fulfilled and resilient, so they can lead better lives.

Dealing With Betrayal in Midlife: 4 Steps To Healing

By Karen Caffrey

Recently I wrote about how the separation of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver might be touching fears about marital stability in midlife. I had mentioned affairs as one possible pitfall in a midlife marriage, particularly one where one or both … Continue reading →

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Is Divorce Inevitable in Midlife?

By Karen Caffrey

High profile separations and divorces of long-married couples, like the separation of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announced yesterday, can tap into a core of unease in many of us about loss of stability and change.  If it can happen … Continue reading →

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Don’t Be So Quick To Say You’re Not The Buddha

By Karen Caffrey

Several years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a three day workshop presented by Dan Siegel, MD at Kripalu Center in Massachusetts.  In case you haven’t heard of him, Dan Siegel is a psychiatrist, author and preeminent researcher in … Continue reading →

Posted in Compassion, General, Your Better Life | Leave a comment

Lost Your Midlife Mojo? Three Steps To Getting It Back

By Karen Caffrey

Remember having a sense of personal vibrancy and exuberance, when all things seemed possible?  When you had the “magic”?  When you felt full of joie de vivre, attractive and alive?  Are you feeling it now? Yes, no, maybe? If the … Continue reading →

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Ready, Aim, STOP!! Three Steps To Slowing Down Your Life

By Karen Caffrey

It saddens me to witness what a difficult time some people have stopping.  Stopping their thoughts, stopping their words, stopping the constant race of some kind, any kind, of forward motion.  It’s hard to have a good life when you simply … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, General, Self-Care, Your Better Life | Leave a comment

Approach With An Easy Heart

By Karen Caffrey

Last week Charlie Rose interviewed actor Bradley Cooper, star of the recent box office hit movie Limitless.  When Rose asked him how he’s changed in the process of preparing for a role Cooper replied, “The main thing I’ve learned is … Continue reading →

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The Gift of a Mid-Life Crisis (Or Two or Three)

By Karen Caffrey

It’s never to late, or too early, to have a mid-life crisis. The phrase “mid-life crisis” has become impossibly trite.  But a mid-life crisis still describes an experience that many, if not most, people have at some point in their … Continue reading →

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The Sleep Diet

By Karen Caffrey

I’m on a diet. The Sleep Diet. Unlike most diets, however, this diet involves indulgence rather than deprivation. Since January 1, I have been sleeping as much as I want. I go to bed early and I don’t get up until I … Continue reading →

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Getting Counsel From Someone Who’s Been There

By Karen Caffrey

Lawyer-turned-therapist offers help to attorneys in crisis by Douglas S. Malan The Connecticut Law Tribune March 30, 2009 Karen Caffrey knows the feeling. You’re in your early thirties and things are starting to click at your law firm. You’re getting … Continue reading →

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Adoptees And Silent Realities

By Karen Caffrey

In our society adoption is usually viewed as a problem-solving, not a problem-creating, event. Adoptive parents can parent a child, birth parents are relieved from the responsibility of parenting that same child, and the child ends up with a family.  … Continue reading →

Posted in On Being Adopted | 1 Comment